A gear is a rotating circular machine part having cut teeth or, in the case of a cogwheel or gearwheel, inserted teeth, which mesh with another (compatible) toothed part to transmit rotational power. While doing so, they can change the torque and rotational speed being transmitted and also change the rotational axis of the power being transmitted. The teeth on the two meshing gears all have the same shape.
A lathe is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, threading and turning, with tools that are applied to the workpiece to create an object with symmetry about that axis.
A rack and pinion is a type of linear actuator that comprises a circular gear engaging a linear gear. Together, they convert between rotational motion and linear motion. Rotating the pinion causes the rack to be driven in a line. Conversely, moving the rack linearly will cause the pinion to rotate. A rack-and-pinion drive can use both straight and helical gears. Though some suggest helical gears are quieter in operation, no hard evidence supports this theory. Helical racks, while being more affordable, have proven to increase side torque on the datums, increasing operating temperature leading to premature wear. Straight racks require a lower driving force and offer increased torque and speed per fraction of gear ratio which allows lower operating temperature and lessens viscal friction and energy use. The maximum force that can be transmitted in a rack-and-pinion mechanism is determined by the torque on the pinion and its size, or, conversely, by the force on the rack and the size of the pinion.
In machining, a shaper is a type of machine tool that uses linear relative motion between the workpiece and a single-point cutting tool to machine a linear toolpath. Its cut is analogous to that of a lathe, except that it is (archetypally) linear instead of helical.
Broaching is a machining process that uses a toothed tool, called a broach, to remove material. There are two main types of broaching: linear and rotary. In linear broaching, which is the more common process, the broach is run linearly against a surface of the workpiece to produce the cut. Linear broaches are used in a broaching machine, which is also sometimes shortened to broach. In rotary broaching, the broach is rotated and pressed into the workpiece to cut an axisymmetric shape. A rotary broach is used in a lathe or screw machine. In both processes the cut is performed in one pass of the broach, which makes it very efficient.
Edwin R. Fellows was an American inventor and entrepreneur from Torrington, Connecticut who designed and built a new type of gear shaper in 1896 and, with the mentoring of James Hartness, left the Jones & Lamson Machine Company to co-found the Fellows Gear Shaper Company in Springfield, Vermont, which became one of the leading firms in the gear-cutting segment of the machine tool industry. Fellows' machines made a vital contribution to the mass production of effective and reliable gear transmissions for the nascent automotive industry. By the conclusion of World War II, Fellows Gear Shaper Company machines were in defense contractor plants, manufacturing geared components for aircraft engines, tanks, instruments, cameras, fuses and other war-time materiel.
Turning is a machining process in which a cutting tool, typically a non-rotary tool bit, describes a helix toolpath by moving more or less linearly while the workpiece rotates.
Milling cutters are cutting tools typically used in milling machines or machining centres to perform milling operations. They remove material by their movement within the machine or directly from the cutter's shape.
In machining, a metal lathe or metalworking lathe is a large class of lathes designed for precisely machining relatively hard materials. They were originally designed to machine metals; however, with the advent of plastics and other materials, and with their inherent versatility, they are used in a wide range of applications, and a broad range of materials. In machining jargon, where the larger context is already understood, they are usually simply called lathes, or else referred to by more-specific subtype names. These rigid machine tools remove material from a rotating workpiece via the movements of various cutting tools, such as tool bits and drill bits.
Gear cutting is any machining process for creating a gear. The most common gear-cutting processes include hobbing, broaching, milling, grinding, and skiving. Such cutting operations may occur either after or instead of forming processes such as forging, extruding, investment casting, or sand casting.
Spur gears or straight-cut gears are the simplest type of gear. They consist of a cylinder or disk with teeth projecting radially. Viewing the gear at 90 degrees from the shaft length the tooth faces are straight and aligned parallel to the axis of rotation. Looking down the length of the shaft, a tooth's cross section is usually not triangular. Instead of being straight the sides of the cross section have a curved form to achieve a constant drive ratio. Spur gears mesh together correctly only if fitted to parallel shafts. No axial thrust is created by the tooth loads. Spur gears are excellent at moderate speeds but tend to be noisy at high speeds.
Gear manufacturing refers to the making of gears. Gears can be manufactured by a variety of processes, including casting, forging, extrusion, powder metallurgy, and blanking. As a general rule, however, machining is applied to achieve the final dimensions, shape and surface finish in the gear. The initial operations that produce a semifinishing part ready for gear machining as referred to as blanking operations; the starting product in gear machining is called a gear blank.
The profile angle of a gear is the angle at a specified pitch point between a line tangent to a tooth surface and the line normal to the pitch surface. This definition is applicable to every type of gear for which a pitch surface can be defined. The profile angle gives the direction of the tangent to a tooth profile.
A spline is a ridge or tooth on a drive shaft that matches with a groove in a mating piece and transfers torque to it, maintaining the angular correspondence between them.
A herringbone gear, a specific type of double helical gear, is a side-to-side, rather than face-to-face, combination of two helical gears of opposite hands. From the top, each helical groove of this gear looks like the letter V, and many together form a herringbone pattern. Unlike helical gears, herringbone gears do not produce an additional axial load.
A spotface or spot face is a machined feature in which a certain region of the workpiece is faced, providing a smooth, flat, accurately located surface. This is especially relevant on workpieces cast or forged, where the spotface's smooth, flat, accurately located surface stands in distinction to the surrounding surface whose roughness, flatness, and location are subject to wider tolerances and thus not assured with a machining level of precision. The most common application of spotfacing is facing the area around a bolt hole where the bolt's head will sit, which is often done by cutting a shallow counterbore, just deep enough "to clean up"—that is, only enough material is removed to get down past any irregularity and thus make the surface flat. Other common applications of spotfacing involve facing a pad onto a boss, creating planar surfaces in known locations that can orient a casting or forging into position in the assembly; allow part marking such as stamping or nameplate riveting; or offer machine-finish visual appeal in spots, without the need for finishing all over (FAO).
In manufacturing, threading is the process of creating a screw thread. More screw threads are produced each year than any other machine element. There are many methods of generating threads, including subtractive methods ; deformative or transformative methods ; additive methods ; or combinations thereof.
Gear shaping is a machining process for creating teeth on a gear using a cutter. Gear shaping is a convenient and versatile method of gear cutting. It involves continuous, same-plane rotational cutting of gear.
Gashing is a machining process used to rough out coarse pitched gears and sprockets. It is commonly used on worm wheels before hobbing, but also used on internal and external spur gears, bevel gears, helical gears, and gear racks. The process is performed on gashers or universal milling machines, especially in the case of worm wheels. After gashing the gear or sprocket is finished via hobbing, shaping, or shaving.
